Advisory Committee on Climate Change Formed by Delaware River Basin Commission

WEST TRENTON – At its fourth quarter business meeting Dec. 11, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) unanimously approved a resolution establishing the Advisory Committee on Climate Change (ACCC).
According to a release, “DRBC has recognized potentially significant impacts to the water resources of the Delaware River Basin posed by climate change, for example, salinity impacts from sea level rise and changes in the seasonality and volume of streamflows,” stated DRBC Executive Director Steve Tambini. “The ACCC will provide the commission and the basin community with vital, scientific expertise for identifying and prioritizing these threats and vulnerabilities, as well as provide recommendations for mitigation, adaptation and improved resiliency.”
Part of the ACCC’s initial charge is to help inform DRBC’s future water resource planning efforts considering climate change; support development of a comprehensive study on climate impacts to the basin’s water supply and water quality; and organize a Delaware River Basin Climate Forum with commission staff and partners to share basin-focused climate science.
The ACCC will be comprised of up to 18 individuals with relevant expertise, split in half between reserved (appointed by the commissioners or their alternates, representing the basin states, federal government, New York City Bureau of Water Supply, Philadelphia Water Department, and the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary) and non-reserved (appointed by the executive director, representing academia/research institutions, environmental/watershed organizations, business/industry, and/or water/wastewater utilities) members. The committee is authorized for 10 years and can be renewed or extended prior to its expiration in 2029.
DRBC has six advisory committees and one sub-committee to an advisory committee; the ACCC will be its seventh advisory committee. 
Information on each is available at https://bit.ly/2YItDd6 
Commission advisory committees are important forums for information-sharing, dialogue, and coordination among stakeholders and member state agencies; they also help inform the commission’s policy decisions. All advisory committee and sub-committee meetings are open to the public.
The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency created in 1961 by concurrent compact legislation, marking the first time that the federal government and a group of states joined together as equal partners in a river basin planning, development, and regulatory agency. The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.